Lens

You may have seen us reference technical articles by Zeiss in many of our Zeiss ZM lens reviews over the years, such as the C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM or the incredible Biogon T* 2,8/25 ZM. Well, over the course of this time, Zeiss has published a lot of interesting technical articles about the physical basics of camera lenses - but not every article can be found that easily. That’s why they decided to publish them all in one blog post to give you easy access.

Exclusive scoop! Today Leica Camera has announced a "Safari Edition" of the Leica M-P (Type 240) camera. The set includes the Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH, a new strap and a leather SD card holder. There will only be 1,500 sets worldwide and will sell for $9,990k USD (9,900 €) - you can pre-order here! This Safari Edition is actually a good deal - offering over $1,000 USD (500 €) in savings compared to purchasing the items separately (the M-P costs $8k and the Summicron costs $3k). The last cameras to receive this treatment were the Leica MP and X2 Olive LE for the opening of the Kyoto store a year ago in March 2014. Read more below for additional details and photos!

Leica has announced a special new set which provides an "affordable" entry into the world of Leica M photography. The set consists of the Leica M-E camera, and both the Summarit-M 50mm f/2.5 and Summarit-M 75mm f/2.5 lenses. Purchasing these items individually would cost $8,895 USD ($8,395 USD until March 31, 2015 when Leica’s promotion on M ($750) and lenses ($250) ends). This set is available for $6,500 USD, a savings of $2,395 USD!

Two long-awaited lenses for the Leica T have been released - the APO-Vario-Elmar-T 55-135mm 3.5-4.5 ASPH (80-200mm) (specs) and the Super-Vario-Elmar-T 11-23mm f/3.5-4.5 ASPH (17-35mm) (specs)! In fact, they are already available at some Leica stores and dealers. They were officially announced at Photokina in September of 2014.Read more below for details!

You may have heard of the recent price increase on M system and accessories set to drop at the end of January - effectively putting an end to the currently running $750 discount on Leica M and $250 on M lenses. Leica has extended this discount until March 31, 2015, which only makes sense as that's how long the You and Leica M test drive runs, which was renewed for this year.

Leica is now also offering the $750 discount towards the purchase of a new Leica M Monochrom (in silver or black) - this offer is only valid in the U.S. and Canada, however. What this means is that, like we've said earlier - there's no new M Monochrom model coming just yet (as some sites might have you believe). It's very likely that Leica is clearing their inventory, however... It was supposed to be announced at Photokina, so way late.

Through multiple sources, we have confirmed that a Lenny Kravitz edition camera is coming now official (see below), and will drop in February. We don't know much more at this point, other than it will likely be a brass/brassed finish and nowhere near as cool as the Leica MP pictured below. He is of course, a Leica shooter and published a book called "Flash" which you can pre-order. Read more below for updates and photos!